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Email letters, June 4, 2013

This letter is in response to the person who thinks that because seatbelts are mandatory, motorcycle helmets should be.

Thirty states allow motorcyclists to make their own decisions about wearing helmets. Since 1978, the states that allow riders to choose have had statistically lower fatality rates than the states that require the use of helmets. The two states with the lowest fatality rates per registered motorcycles are Colorado and Iowa.

Helmets can be dangerous. They can snag things, limit hearing and peripheral vision and are a heavy weight on the head. Helmets can be very hot to wear, and people have passed out from the heat inside of a helmet.

Helmets can be compared to airbags; they can either save a life or kill someone. Since a helmet is a potentially lethal device, adult riders should be allowed to choose to wear one or not.